Rochester, ND truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Rochester: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Rochester and Cass County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Cass County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
15 of 914 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Cass County compares with North Dakota
Cass County against North Dakota and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Cass County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Cass County | North Dakota | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 38.9 | 73.9 | 49.7 | 47% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 20% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.25 | 0.33 | 0.49 | 24% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.8% | 0.9% | 2.3% | 1.9× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 38.5% | 34.4% | 6.2% | 1.1× the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 22.0% | 22.7% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 19.4% | 16.2% | 13.8% | 1.2× the state |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 52.5% | 47.2% | 41.9% | 1.1× the state |
| After dark | 22.7% | 24.7% | 24.8% | 8% below the state |
Compared with North Dakota, Cass County is lower on crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and injuries per crash. It runs above North Dakota on garbage-truck share, on snow, slush or ice and in rain, sleet or snow.
What stands out in Cass County: 1 in 57 of truck crashes here involve garbage trucks: 1.8%, vs 0.9% in North Dakota.
Overview
Cass County has recorded 914 truck crashes since 2015, with 234 people injured and 29 killed.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly one truck crash every 5 days.
Rochester had 0 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Cass County numbers.
36% of truck crash reports in Cass County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
The worst month is January with 12.6% of truck crashes; the quietest is May at 5.3%.
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 52.5% of truck crashes, vs 47.2% for North Dakota.
More truck crashes happen at 4–5 pm than at any other hour (8.5%).
38.5% of truck crashes here happened on snow, slush or ice, against 34.4% across North Dakota.
Where crashes happen
Since 2015, fatal crashes with a large truck within 10 miles of Rochester happened on CR-26 (1); no road leads clearly.
Garbage & waste trucks
15 crashes involved a garbage or refuse truck, a 1.6% share (North Dakota: 0.9%).
Route planning tips for Rochester fleets
- Review driver schedules for January, the month with the most truck crashes.
- 38.5% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice, above North Dakota; plan winter equipment checks before the season.
- Paste your stops into the free Route Planner to see the risk score, safer alternatives and low bridges.
About the data
Crash counts come from the FMCSA crash file (police-reported crashes involving trucks over 10,000 lb); fatal-crash locations come from NHTSA FARS. Text on this page states only what these numbers show.
Truck crashes by year: all trucks vs garbage trucks
Seasonality: when trucks crash in Cass County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| CR-26 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Cass County) |
|---|---|
| I-29 | 21 |
| I-94 | 17 |
| 32Nd Ave Sw | 11 |
| 45Th St | 10 |
| 12Th Ave | 8 |
| 7Th Ave | 7 |
| SR-18 | 6 |
| SR-294 | 5 |
Rochester at a glance
| Population | 45 |
| Land area | 36.0 sq mi |
| Density | 1 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 58064) | $75,625 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Cass County since the 1990s
Combines the FMCSA crash file (all reported truck crashes, real coverage from about 1990) with NHTSA FARS (fatal crashes involving a large truck, 1982–2024).
| Decade | Truck crashes / yr | Change | Fatal crashes / yr (FARS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31 | — | 0.7 |
| 2000s | 17 | -45% | 0.7 |
| 2010s | 63 | +269% | 1.5 |
| 2020s | 86 | +35% | 1.8 |
In the 1990s about 31 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 86. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. Fatal large-truck crashes: 1.8 a year in 2016–19, 1.8 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Rochester
How many truck accidents are there in Rochester?
Cass County has had 914 reported truck crashes since 2015, injuring 234 people and killing 29.
What is the worst month for truck crashes in Rochester?
The worst month is January: 12.6% of truck crashes in Cass County happen then.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Rochester?
15 crashes involving garbage or refuse trucks have been reported in Cass County since 2015, 1.6% of all truck crashes.
What is the truck crash rate in Rochester compared with North Dakota?
The yearly rate is 38.9 truck crashes per 100,000 residents in Cass County, vs 73.9 for North Dakota.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in Rochester?
The free Route Planner takes your stops and returns a route risk score, safer alternatives and low-bridge warnings.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.